| Author |
Message
|
| mike7 |
 Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2003 12:46 pm Post subject: MS-Word Document Workflow !!! |
 |
|
Novice
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 14
|
Hello,
One of my client has the following need :
He needs to manage a document workflow.
The document is a MS-WORD format.
This word document is modified by 4 distinct people in 4 (manual)activities composing the process.
These activities are in a serial. (A1 -> A2 -> A3 -> A4).
This 4 people uses distinct PCs.
Has any one implemented a similar type of workflow (i.e an ms-word document workfow) with MQSeries Workflow ?
If yes, How did you implement it (Precisions Welcome !) ?
As the four people are on four different machines, what solutions did you use to bring the ms-word document to each personn ?
Thanks by advance for your answers !
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
| Ratan |
| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Grand Master
Joined: 18 Jul 2002
Posts: 1245
|
You can do it by having the document on a common share accessible to all the four people and sending in the url to the doc through your process. Should not be a complex workflow.
-Ratan. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| mike7 |
| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Novice
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 14
|
Thanks for your answer Ratan.
If I use a URL like the following one below :
http://www.sharemation.com/~gmgershon/Word%20MIME%20Word.doc
I will not be able to modify my document (because the original document is is on the http server).
and that would be a problem as my (manual) activty A2 need to use the document modified by (manual) activity A1.
Perhaps, you meant by URL "share the file by Netbios".
In this case, there might be a constraint : I am not sure that my users will be able to have a shared disk by netbios (F:\\@ip_address\test.doc) as some actors may be providers which connect through the internet ... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Ratan |
| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2003 2:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Grand Master
Joined: 18 Jul 2002
Posts: 1245
|
Yes, I meant a shared disk. I thnk that is the General Idea of how to do it. Now that you have some constraints you have to work around them.
I would probably have the file on an FTP server, and have one activity execute a batch script to logon to FTP server and download the Doc, the next activity would be manual to manipulate it and the third will again execute a batch to upload the doc to the FTP site. So you will have about 3 x 4 activities. Not an effective solution though.
Did you consider any document management systems/servers?
-Ratan. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| mike7 |
| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2003 12:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
Novice
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 14
|
Thanks a lot for these useful precisions Ratan !!!
If I well understood, we could say that MQSeries WorkFlow is not a "document oriented worflow" management system (can you confirm ?).
So If I still want to use MQ Workflow, I have to use some tips to use my ms-word document modified by various actors in different manuals activities. (For instance : an FTP server.)
Besides, the provider which will connect via a web client and cannot access distant machines via Netbios, will have to be one of the actor of the process.
Has any one has experimented an MS-WORD document workflow with MQSeries workflow (and perhaps experimented my difficulties !!!...) ?
Any experiment and precisions on implementations are VERY WELCOME AND APPRECIATED !!!!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| dkrawczynski |
| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 6:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
Apprentice
Joined: 19 Dec 2002
Posts: 26
Location: Dallas, TX
|
I think FTP is a good choice to retrieve and save files over the internet. I don't think there is a need to have more than one activity though. If a user selects a workitem, make sure the check it out first, then generate an FTP script file on the fly and execute it via a DOS comand (ftp -s <script file>). Then you can launch MS Word using the local copy of the document. When finished, just FTP the file back and check in the workitem.
The MQSeries Workflow product provides a network "workflow service" that is indepenant of the type of data involved in the processes it manages. Most of the time MQWF is used to manage data stored in a relational database. If all you are dealing with is document management, perhaps you should look at a different tool, such as Documentum, which is specifically designed for that task.
_________________
Doug Krawczynski
IBM Certified Solutions Expert -
MQSeries Workflow |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| mike7 |
| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 9:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
Novice
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 14
|
Thanks dkrawczynski !
Indeed, Documentum may be a good choice for a workflow exclusively based on Document.
But the problem is in fact that the client needs a documentation workflow (first process based on document) and also needs a workflow based on data structures like MQWF (for a second and different process based on data structures).
For both processes (the document one and the data structure one), it would be perhaps better to use the same modeler rather than two (one for each worflow product i.e Documentum and MQWF)
So, if anyone has already interconnected Documentum with MQWF, I am VERY interested on the return !
(perhaps, I will open a new thread on that question) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| yaakovd |
| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 11:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
Partisan
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Posts: 319
Location: Israel
|
What about sending Doc wia e-mail?
You can run Java application from WF activity with parameters like sendTo, file name etc...
_________________
Best regards.
Yaakov
SWG, IBM Commerce, Israel |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| jet |
| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 7:51 am Post subject: |
|
|
Apprentice
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Posts: 49
Location: New York
|
what I will do is to store the word in DB2.....use JDBC to access it when u need it....
if u do that, u need to use MQWF java APIs to perform some workflow related tasks(such as activity implementation etc..).....then in there put the JDBC stuff somewhere... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
